Transcript Chapter 9 - COOKING WITH CONNALLY

Chapter 9
Knife Skills
Objective
• Apply the procedures for preparing a
workstation for knife work
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Preparing the Workstation
• Follow these steps to prepare your
workstation:
– Select a cleaned and sanitized cutting board
– Place a damp towel between the cutting
board and worktable
– Adjust the height of the worktable and cutting
board as necessary
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Preparing the Workstation
• Follow these steps to prepare your
workstation (continued):
– Select the appropriate knife and make sure
the edge is sharp
– Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and
weight evenly distributed on both feet facing
the worktable
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Objective
• Execute the proper technique for cutting
with a chef knife
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Using the Chef Knife
• The chef knife is the most important knife
in the kitchen
• A chef knife can be used to chop, slice,
cut, and mince
• The most common sizes are 8- and
10-inch
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The Knife Grip
• Grip the knife with
your dominant
hand
• Grasp the portion
of the knife blade
just next to the end
of the handle with
the thumb and
forefinger
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The Knife Grip
• Wrap remaining
fingers comfortably
around the handle
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The Guiding Hand
• Positioning the guiding
hand:
1. Curl fingertips under
slightly to protect the
fingertips
2. Place your thumb and
pinkie finger behind the
other fingers to grasp
the object during cutting
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The Cutting Motion
• Begin your stroke with the tip of the chef
knife pointed toward the cutting board
• The knife glides forward as the handle of
the knife descends toward the cutting
board
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Technique: Cutting with the Chef
Knife
1. Position guiding hand on one or more smaller
objects. Thumb and pinkie are holding the
object(s) securely and are behind the other
fingers. Front fingers are curved. Finger
position determines the location of the cut.
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Technique: Cutting with the Chef
Knife
2. Place flat side of chef knife against middle joint
of the front fingers of the guiding hand. The
knife blade should be resting on the object(s).
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Technique: Cutting with the Chef
Knife
3. Gently glide chef knife in a forward and down
motion until the entire blade of the knife is
resting on the cutting board. The object(s)
should be completely cut.
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Technique: Cutting with the Chef
Knife
4. Lift back end of the knife so the tip
remains pointing down. Slide guiding
hand to the location of the next cut. Verify
the position of the guiding hand and
begin again at step one.
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Objective
• Execute the three basic knife cuts
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Basic Knife Cuts
• Foodservice professionals must be able to
produce consistently cut shapes
• Three basic knife cuts
– Slice
– Stick
– Dice
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Slices
• Slices should be the
same thickness
• Rondelles are often
¼-inch (6 mm) thick
• Lightly trim one side
of the food to
prevent rolling while
cutting
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Sticks
• Most common stick cuts
Batonnet (bat ohn AY)
Julienne (joo lee EHN)
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Technique: Preparing Stick Cuts
1. Trim food item so it is flat on one side.
2. Trim the other five sides of the food to
create a rectangular box.
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Technique: Preparing Stick Cuts
3. Cut lengthwise slices according to the
thickness required for the specific stick cut.
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Technique: Preparing Stick Cuts
4. Cut each slice lengthwise into uniformly
sized sticks based on the dimensions of
the desired stick cut.
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Dices
• To make a dice, cut across stick cuts to
make cubes
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Dices
• Most common dice cuts
Large dice
Medium dice
Small dice
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Dices
• Most common dice cuts (continued)
Brunoise (broon WAHZ)
Paysanne (pay ZAHN)
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Mincing
• The chef knife is also used for mincing
foods
• Remove food that sticks to the blade by
dragging a finger from the back of the
knife toward the edge
• Drag the knife blade across the cutting
board to push food back into a neat pile
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Technique: Mincing
1. Place tip of knife on cutting board. Place
guiding hand on the back of the tip of the
knife. Keep fingers of the guiding hand
away from the blade.
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Technique: Mincing
2. To mince a product, lower and raise the
chef knife repeatedly while pivoting the
knife on the rounded front section of the
blade.
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Objective
• Apply the correct techniques for using a
boning knife
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Using the Boning Knife
• There are three methods for gripping a
boning knife
1. All fingers grip the handle of the knife
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Using the Boning Knife
2. All fingers except the index finger grip the
handle. Index finger rests on the back of the
blade.
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Using the Boning Knife
3. All fingers wrap
around the
handle with the
blade pointing
down
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Using the Boning Knife
• The guiding hand
manipulates the
fish or meat during
the cutting process
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Objective
• Execute the correct use of a paring knife
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Using the Paring Knife
• The paring knife can be used for a wide
variety of small tasks such as
– peeling vegetables and fruits
– making the classical knife cut called a tourné
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Technique: Preparing Vegetable
Tournés
1. Cut the vegetable to approximate desired
length of the tourné.
2. Hold trimmed vegetable in the guiding
hand.
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Technique: Preparing Vegetable
Tournés
3. Place thumb of the knife
hand on or near the end
of the vegetable. Make
one continuous cut
starting at the top of the
vegetable drawing the
knife toward the bottom
in a slightly rounded
fashion.
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Technique: Preparing Vegetable
Tournés
4. Turn vegetable 1/7th revolution and make
another cut. Right-handed cooks turn the
vegetable counterclockwise, while lefthanded cooks turn the vegetable
clockwise. Finished tourné should have
seven equal sides.
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Objective
• Implement the proper technique when
using a slicer or serrated bread knife
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Using the Slicer and Serrated
Bread Knife
• To use a slicer or
serrated bread knife
– wrap your hand
around the handle
with no fingers on the
blade
– use a long, sawing
motion with minimal
downward pressure
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Review
• Describe the procedures for preparing a
workstation for knife work
– Clean and sanitize cutting board; place damp
towel between cutting board and worktable;
adjust height of worktable or cutting board, if
necessary; select appropriate knife; use
correct stance
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Review
• Explain the proper technique for cutting
with a chef knife
– When cutting, fingertips of the guiding hand
are curled under for safety and accuracy
– Guiding hand guides the knife as it makes
uniform cuts using a smooth, forward and
down motion
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Review
• What types of knife cuts are made with
the chef knife?
– Slices, sticks, dices, mince
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Review
• Describe the proper technique for using a
boning knife
– All fingers grip handle; all fingers grip handle
except for index finger resting on back of
blade; or all fingers wrap around handle with
blade pointing down
– During cutting, the guiding hand maneuvers
the food item being cut
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Review
• What is the paring knife commonly used
for?
– Peeling, trimming, and making tournés
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Review
• Explain the correct technique for cutting
with a slicer or serrated bread knife
– Sawing motion with little downward pressure;
product should not be smashed
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